Category Archives: State News

Accused Highland Park shooter pleads guilty

Accused Highland Park shooter pleads guilty

Robert Crimo III, the man accused of carrying out a mass shooting in Highland Park in 2022 that left seven people dead and prompted the passage of a ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines in Illinois, pleaded guilty Monday to all charges stemming from that shooting.MORE

Forgotten Black military heroes featured in Illinois State Museum exhibit

Forgotten Black military heroes featured in Illinois State Museum exhibit

By Athan YanosLeonardo Pini& Medill Illinois News Bureau SPRINGFIELD – As Black History Month comes to an end, the Illinois State Museum this week honored Black Springfield residents who excelled in their military service to the country – from forgotten heroes of the Civil War to soldiers deployed in France during World War I who…MORE

Illinois schools continuing DEI initiatives despite federal funding threats

Illinois schools continuing DEI initiatives despite federal funding threats

The Illinois State Board of Education is not telling schools to stop any diversity, equity and inclusion lessons or programs, the state’s education chief told a House committee this week, even as the Trump administration threatens to pull federal funding from schools that don’t stop. MORE

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…